Re this:
teo_audio118 posts06-08-2017 12:01pmI tend to listen to redbook, for the most part, but I’m using a ladder or R2R DAC. No delta-sigma single bit DAC here.
Which makes a huge difference, IMO. When folks hear it they keep asking me how to get that incredible sound out of digital.
... I have to second that statement. R2R digital has transformed my entire experience of digital music (which began in 1986 and evolved quite a bit on past decade).
I listen to audio primarily via a relatively complex desktop system w/multiple, high-quality headphone amps & headphones being used whenever the spirit moves me (the Violectric V281 amp/pre-amp normally does preamp dues for powered speakers + subs). In next 2 weeks the speakers will be upgraded to ZenPro mod Yamaha HS7 powered monitors...because I tired of looking for audiophile-level powered speakers in the size/power I seek. I have at least 1,200-1,500 CDs, ~250 of which exist as rips on HD (.wav files) or in various complications (also .wav files). I've never heard MQA or high-rez audio. Will someday, but not a priority. Redbook files have much upside for exploration, depending on the DAC used.
Anyway, last summer I purchased my first R2R DAC--the Audio GD NOS 19. Not only is it an R2R design, but it's a native non-oversampling variant of that design. The NOS 19 took a long time to finish burning in (>400 hrs, as other users report--true), but when it did, the digital coming out sounds essentially nothing like any digital I'd heard previously. Some delta sigma designed impressed, but this is truly different: organic, natural-sounding, unforced, conveying more ambience & instrumental timbre than I'd ever heard digital do. I heard this on speakers + sub, but even more so via high quality, balanced headphones. I quickly became accustomed to this new kind of digital sound & now take it for granted.
I'm so impressed by the NOS 19 that I recently acquired on of the last DAC-19's made by Audio GD (that's the oversampling variant of the NOS 19). I just finished buring that in 400+ hrs and will soon do some critical listening via headphones. But I can already tell that it's in the same R2R "family," far more organic and natural than most DACs.
In short, with 2 amps costing less than $1K each, I've found that R2D designs completely transform how I perceive digital music.
In case you're wondering why I dabble audio--it's 100% about music. I loved music from early childhood and listen to it 12+ hrs a day, mostly streaming classic/jazz/ambient from European sources (I'm self-employed & work in home office, so I do as I please). 30 yrs ago I had very large, audiophile systems in the living room, but those days are gone.
Which makes a huge difference, IMO. When folks hear it they keep asking me how to get that incredible sound out of digital.
... I have to second that statement. R2R digital has transformed my entire experience of digital music (which began in 1986 and evolved quite a bit on past decade).
I listen to audio primarily via a relatively complex desktop system w/multiple, high-quality headphone amps & headphones being used whenever the spirit moves me (the Violectric V281 amp/pre-amp normally does preamp dues for powered speakers + subs). In next 2 weeks the speakers will be upgraded to ZenPro mod Yamaha HS7 powered monitors...because I tired of looking for audiophile-level powered speakers in the size/power I seek. I have at least 1,200-1,500 CDs, ~250 of which exist as rips on HD (.wav files) or in various complications (also .wav files). I've never heard MQA or high-rez audio. Will someday, but not a priority. Redbook files have much upside for exploration, depending on the DAC used.
Anyway, last summer I purchased my first R2R DAC--the Audio GD NOS 19. Not only is it an R2R design, but it's a native non-oversampling variant of that design. The NOS 19 took a long time to finish burning in (>400 hrs, as other users report--true), but when it did, the digital coming out sounds essentially nothing like any digital I'd heard previously. Some delta sigma designed impressed, but this is truly different: organic, natural-sounding, unforced, conveying more ambience & instrumental timbre than I'd ever heard digital do. I heard this on speakers + sub, but even more so via high quality, balanced headphones. I quickly became accustomed to this new kind of digital sound & now take it for granted.
I'm so impressed by the NOS 19 that I recently acquired on of the last DAC-19's made by Audio GD (that's the oversampling variant of the NOS 19). I just finished buring that in 400+ hrs and will soon do some critical listening via headphones. But I can already tell that it's in the same R2R "family," far more organic and natural than most DACs.
In short, with 2 amps costing less than $1K each, I've found that R2D designs completely transform how I perceive digital music.
In case you're wondering why I dabble audio--it's 100% about music. I loved music from early childhood and listen to it 12+ hrs a day, mostly streaming classic/jazz/ambient from European sources (I'm self-employed & work in home office, so I do as I please). 30 yrs ago I had very large, audiophile systems in the living room, but those days are gone.